This is huge news for the General Aviation community, manufacturers and advocates of personal responsibility. Common sense wins out in a case involving a VFR pilot who clearly attempted flight into instrument meteorological conditions and subsequently crashed his Cirrus with a passenger on board. The pilot took off in marginal VFR conditions that were marked by strong wind gusts and low visibility due to darkness and a cloud ceiling of 14 feet above ground. The pilot's family sued the University of North Dakota who provided pilot training and Cirrus Aircraft, the manufacturer of the aircraft. It is heartening to see that the family was not able to profit from an accident that resulted from a pilot specifically violating Federal regulations.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) blamed the accident on the pilot and stated that the accident was a direct result of "the pilot's improper decision". NTSB also said that "Contributing factors were the pilot's improper decision to attempt flight into marginal VFR conditions, his inadvertent flight into instrument meteorological conditions, the low lighting condition (night) and the trees," the official report said. The NTSB also found that the aircraft was perfectly functional prior to the accident stating, "A post accident examination of the aircraft and engine did not reveal any anomalies".
More from the article here:
http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/supreme_court_ruling_prokop_cirrus_training_precedent_207004-1.html
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